Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of housing costs on levels of child poverty.

The Child Poverty Act 2010 sets out four income-based target measures of child poverty. Each of these measures is calculated on a before housing costs basis and therefore does not take into account the effect housing costs have on the levels of child poverty (as defined under the Act). Calculating poverty figures on an after housing costs basis can underestimate the true standard of living a child experiences as a family may make a choice to spend more on rent or mortgage to attain a higher standard of accommodation.

Estimates of the number and proportion of children in low income, on both a before and after housing costs basis, are published in the National Statistics Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. These estimates can be found at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-hbai-199495-to-201213